Dubai's low cost airline flydubai has signed a $20 million deal with Honeywell to provide maintenance support for the auxiliary power units (APUs) installed on its Boeing 737-800 NG passenger aircraft.

The ten-year contract provides flydubai with a stable, predictable maintenance structure that reduces costs associated with ad-hoc maintenance work and unscheduled airframe grounding, the airline said in a statement.

It also extends the operational availability of the fleet, which currently stands at 20 aircraft. flydubai has another 30 Boeing 737-800 NG aircraft on order.

Ghaith Al Ghaith, CEO of flydubai, said: "With one of the highest fleet utilisation rates in the industry, we need to ensure that our aircraft fully support the operations schedule and Honeywell’s timely responses will safeguard this."

"This contract will also help flydubai maximise our operational efficiency to maintain our excellent performance record, while providing cost savings that we can pass onto passengers by way of lower fares," he added.

Honeywell’s 131-9B APU supplies auxiliary power to each of flydubai’s Boeing 737-800 NG aircraft for engine start, as well as power for on-board air conditioning and pre-engine start-up power supply.

APU reliability is essential to ensure aircraft adhere to exacting international safety and performance requirements whether on the ground or flying over water.

John Bolton, president Air Transport & Regional, Honeywell Aerospace said, “With passenger demand in the Middle East growing rapidly, the need to maximise operational capacity and efficiency of aircraft fleets while maintaining a high level of safety, is now top of operators’ agendas.”

"As one of the region’s leading low cost carriers, cost reduction and serviceability of fleets is of paramount importance to flydubai," observed Bolton.

"Our Maintenance Cost Agreement will reduce costs arising from unscheduled APU maintenance and maximise the flight status of its Boeing 737-800 NG fleet in the process," he added.

In addition to Honeywell’s standard APU product warranty, the maintenance cost agreement provides flydubai with on-demand technical expertise from Honeywell’s regional engineers.-TradeArabia News Service